Five Bullets 6.23.23

This week: Being Huemann, General Slocum, The Bad Plus

Jun 23, 2023

Hello and welcome back to Circles In Space for Five Bullet Friday, where each Friday I share interesting stuff collected during the week.

If you’re new to Circles In Space, I wrote a bit about myself and this newsletter.

Good morning and Happy Friday everyone! It’s another cool and cloudy day here in New York City. I’ve got a bit of everything this week - from disability rights activist Judith Heumann’s memoir to jazz trio The Bad Plus taking on the kings of prog-rock Rush.

I’ve heard from several readers that they enjoy when each bullet is delineated by a category - books, music, podcasts, etc. I like this too and think it makes each bullet a bit easier to read. If you’ve got a suggestion or anything to share, leave me a comment!

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS:

Books: This week I’m reading disability rights activist Judith Huemann’s memoir Being Heumann. I’m reviewing the book for Words Alive’s program Page Turners which crowdsources book reviews to volunteers. Words Alive is a not-for-profit organization which hosts book clubs and readings for kids and teens. If a book receives positive reviews Words Alive will include the book in their education curriculum. In Being Huemann, Judy gives readers remarkable insight into her life-long fight for disability rights and equality which framed disability rights activism as a civil rights movement.
History: On June 15, 1904 the General Slocum caught fire and sank in the East River. 1,021 people lost their lives making the incident New York City’s worst until 9/11. In the East Village’s Tompkins Square Park a fountain memorializes those lost - many were German immigrants living in the area near the park known then as Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany.
Magazines: Brian Dillon’s article on how ‘Old magazines are cheap time machines'.
Podcasts: Colin & Samir sat down with podcasting titan Tim Ferris for a detailed and in-depth review of Ferris’s strategy and processes. My main takeaways were Ferris’s points on how to conduct a successful interview.
Music: Earlier in the week I found a stack of CDs sitting in front of a building and one cover caught my eye - a beautiful blue and white Smith Corona Coronet electric typewriter sitting on a wooden pedestal. I grabbed it and discovered Prog, the 2007 album by jazz trio The Bad Plus. As on previous albums the trio takes on several covers, including Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule and World and David Bowie’s Life on Mars. For me the standout track is the band’s cover of Rush’s Tom Sawyer - an excellent example of the band’s frenetic dynamic and is just plain fun.

That’s all for this week!

As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Until next time,